County Executive Dinolfo: 'We can do better' when it comes to CPS

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo and Commissioner of Human Services Corinda Crossdale talk about Brook Stagles' contact with child protective services in the weeks before her death in Nov. 2016.
Meaghan McDermott

Days after a Spencerport woman's criminal conviction in the beating death of 3-year-old Brook Stagles, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced sweeping changes to the county's Child Protective Services agency.

"When I took this office, I did so with the fundamental belief that we can always do better," said Dinolfo. On Wednesday she announced an 8-point plan to enhance CPS effectiveness. Changes include redoubled efforts to fill vacant caseworker positions, expand the number of caseworker jobs, increase salaries and reinstate an in-house child abuse hotline that was discontinued in 2015 under then-County Executive Maggie Brooks.

Caseworkers have long said opting to use the New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment hotline service over an in-house service exacerbated existing staffing problems by inundating workers with an ever-growing caseload. They say the in-house hotline did a better job with front-end work culling authentic abuse reports from more spurious claims.

Overall, reports of child abuse and maltreatment to the county have increased by 32 percent since 2014 and 14 percent since 2015, while staffing levels have not increased.

Dinolfo said she could not speak to why the local hotline was discontinued, as it predated her term of office, but said the county would reinstate its own hotline "as soon as possible."

According to reports from 2015, cutting the hotline was expected to save the county as much as $160,000 a year.

Dinolfo said the loss of any child is a tragedy and "even more so as a mother and grandmother of three young girls all under the age of 5, I have been and continue to be heartbroken by the loss of Brook Stagles."

Testimony in the trial of Erica Bell, convicted last week of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in connection with Brook's November 2016 death, revealed there had been two calls to the county's child protective services alleging abuse or maltreatment of the child in the weeks before her death.

Monroe County Commissioner of Human Services Corinda Crossdale joined Dinolfo during a Wednesday news conference to address CPS contacts with Brook in October 2016. Typically, CPS information is held confidential, but given the intense media attention surrounding the Brook Stagles case, Crossdale said she determined releasing the limited information allowed by state law would be in the public interest.

She said as required by state law, county investigators made contact with Brook within 24 hours after each report of abuse or maltreatment: the first being on Oct. 21, alleging maltreatment by the child's biological mother; and the second on Oct. 24, alleging maltreatment by the biological father.

In the days between the Oct. 21 report and Brook's death on Nov. 14, Crossdale said, there were three separate in-home visits made by caseworkers, two additional attempted home visits and two direct observations of Brook, along with several direct conversations with Brook's biological mother and father, as well as other family members.

"At all times during which she was observed by CPS, Brook presented as healthy and clean and was found to be dressed appropriately," said Crossdale. "She was also observed to be happy and interacting positively with others in the household."

At the time of the assignment, the caseworker (who was not named in the news release) had fewer than 20 cases, according to the county. The caseworker had approximately three years of experience with CPS and was working under a supervisor who had more than 10 years on the job.

Additionally, Crossdale said, Brook's biological father was awarded a custody order on Sept. 6, 2016. The order gave the father, Michael Stagles, primary residential custody of the child during the period of CPS investigations.

Michael Stagles is charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with his daughter's death and his trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 13.

The 2018 County Budget will reflect funding for 30 new CPS caseworker positions. The net addition will bring total CPS staffing back above 2010 levels.

The budget also will include an upgrade to the caseworker salary schedule. This increase in compensation will complement existing recruitment and retention efforts.

Caseworkers will have handheld smart tablets to reduce red tape and paperwork. The tablets will connect directly to CPS’s case management hub.

A local Child Abuse and Maltreatment Hotline will be reestablished. The local hotline was closed in 2015. A local hotline allows for better vetting of reports made to CPS.

The Monroe County Department of Human Services will conduct a comprehensive review of state laws, regulations and guidelines that govern CPS casework.

A new CPS mentoring program will be launched in 2018 to include professional best practices, promote positive peer encouragement, and offer continued on-the-job training.

The Monroe County Department of Human Services will collaborate with a trusted community partner to develop a CPS recruitment and retention public marketing campaign. (No details on this were provided in a news release.)

A CPS Staff Development Coordinator will be assigned to also function as a Recruitment Coordinator, with a goal of helping CPS recruits move from application to employment.

Dinolfo said those moves will piggyback on initiatives that date back to her taking office in January 2016, including: authorizing CPS to begin "overfilling" vacancies, with a goal of having all open positions filled as soon as possible; offering three CPS caseworker civil service tests annually instead of two; the 2017 hiring of a team of per diem caseworkers; and the 2016 hiring of a staff development coordinator; and increased partnerships with local school districts and community stakeholders to provide education and awareness about child wellness, abuse and neglect.

"We know the societal challenges facing CPS are not unique to our community, I happen to believe we can always do better and here in Monroe County we are going to do just that," said Dinolfo.

The Monroe County Federation of Social Workers, which represents local CPS workers, released the following statement after Dinolfo's announcement:

"The Federation of Social Workers is pleased with the Monroe County Administration’s recently announced plan to address the concerns that we, and many other individuals and organizations in the community, have raised regarding Child Protective Services. We would like to thank County Executive Dinolfo and Department of Human Services Commissioner Crossdale for this positive response, and are hopeful that this plan represents an ongoing commitment to fully support Child Protective Services staff and the children and families that they serve.”

Last week, a coalition of county legislators announced a draft bill that would reform CPS to cap worker caseloads at no more than 15 at a time. Currently, some workers have upward of 40 cases at a time, when the state benchmark is no more than 15. Republican Tony Micciche, R-Rochester and a candidate for mayor, joined a group of Democrats led by Justin Wilcox, D-Brighton, in support of the proposal.

Wilcox first proposed reforms earlier this year.

Monroe County Legislature Minority Leader Cindy Kaleh released this statement on Wednesday:

"I am glad that the County has finally decided to take action and give CPS the resources it needs to protect our children. I would like to thank Legislator Justin Wilcox for his efforts in bringing legislation to the forefront on this topic and to my fellow legislators who have supported these efforts so far. These common sense approaches have been repeatedly called for by community advocates and the Democratic Caucus alike for years."